Faith

So let’s get to the heart of the matter. Will you go to hell just because you are rich? This seems to be the only ‘fault’ of Dives in Luke 16:25.  Incidentally, Dives, which means ‘rich’ in Latin, is a name given to him traditionally. So while Dives is faulted because he is rich, Lazarus, which ironically means ‘God has helped’ and perhaps the only name that Jesus gives to anyone in the parables, is in heaven merely because he is wretched, starving and a  sore covered pauper. This seems to be so odd balled, to say the least!

Let us understand the mind of Luke who is our gospel writer. Luke’s gospel has an unabashed ‘option for the poor’ and a condemnation for the love for money, plastered all over it; from the widow’s coin and the inheritance of the Prodigal son in chapter 15, to the dishonest manager’s handling of debts. In the Sermon on the Plain, it is the poor who are given the Kingdom of God with a warning to the rich and to those whose bellies are full (6: 24-25) The mandate of Christ is “to bring good news to the poor” (4:18; also 7:22). And then there are the warnings to us; who do we invite to our parties?  Are they “the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind (14:13)? “

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Faith

 

Honestly, what is this woman thinking? Jesus has just finished telling His disciples that He must suffer a horrible death and she pips in, curtsey et al, to ask for a ‘public declaration’ of positions and power, for her boys. Cleary she had heard that Jesus had given the keys of the kingdom to Peter and now she must have been wondering, ‘what are my boys going to get?’ Perhaps she may have noticed that Jesus’ inner circle of three consisted of her boys and Peter. It was this trio who was always around the Lord at those special moments, like the Transfiguration. Would her boys loose out to the ministerial positions in the kingdom of Jesus? And so she moves in to outflank the rest, in favour of her boys. But has Mrs. Zebedee put her foot into her mouth?

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Faith

Matthew 23: 1-12

The Lenten battle is mostly fought in our hearts and while the area may seem no larger than my fist, the enemy through cunning deceit, fights on, so as to not loose an inch. It is a world of deception that he weaves, where even those who work in the evangelizing fields, may end up ruining a bumper harvest. If we get lost by the razzle and dazzle of who we are, rather than what we are called to do, then we end up like the Pharisees of old. So the words of Jesus are words of caution; not only for preachers, but all who bear the name ‘Christian’, for all are called to be evangelizers. 

By the time of Jesus, the ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ lifestyle of the Scribes and Pharisees was out in the open. Their acts of repentance had become merely a ritual. We are told that even the prophets condemned these outwardly demonstration of piety, especially that of rending their garments; and from the description of their phylacteries and tassels, they seemed to have quite a bit of it to do! That was not all. The gospel of today tells us so much more about their behaviour. They preach but don’t practice; they tie burdens, but will not lift a finger to move them. Their words and actions are merely to win men’s admiration. They love being greeted in public places with their honorific titles.

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Faith

Luke 6: 36-38

Ever fallen for one of those TV commercials that advertise a six pack body without having to go to the gym? Yup your right, if you did, then you’re a sucker! Nothing comes that easy; it’s hard work all the way. So why expect anything different in our spiritual lives?

Consider these three tiny verses of today’s gospel. When you read through, the tendency is to let your eyes glide over the challenges in verses 36 and 37 and then settle comfortably on the promises of verse 38; promises of God’s blessings, pressed down, shaken together and running over. But to expect the blessing of verse 38 without the application of the previous verses; to be merciful, non-judgmental and forgiving, is like expecting those famous six packs, without stepping into a gym.

Jesus was no fool when he linked those words side by side, give and forgive. He knew that forgiving must begin with giving. I can’t forgive unless I ‘give up’ my right to get even. Jesus does not ask us to forgive for our neighbour’s sake; He asks us to forgive so that we may be at peace with our selves. It is the poison within us that needs to leave our system, for healing to take place.

The heart of forgiveness lies in verse 36; “be merciful, just as your Father is merciful”. Many years ago, the Emperor Napoleon had issued a decree, that any deserter from his army would be shot on being arrested. The next day a tearful mother turned up to plead with the Emperor, begging for mercy for her son, who fled the battlefield in fear of the terrifying bloodshed. Napoleon boomed, “He does not deserve mercy.” “You are right”, the mother said, “Mercy is never deserved!”

This is why forgiveness is linked to mercy. More than often, the one receiving forgiveness does not deserve it; yet we are asked to be merciful so that our forgiveness may be as generous as the Father’s giving. Remember Romans 5:8? ‘While we were yet sinners’, God adopted us. What’s in it for me you ask? At the time you most need it, you will be ‘forGIVEN’; and that too, pressed down, shaken together, running over.

Many years ago, as a young priest, I found myself constantly in a run in with the parish priest. A wise Bishop, in response to my bitter complaints advised me, ‘you can focus on him (the priest) or on Him (Jesus). You want to learn forgiveness? Fix your eyes on Jesus, on the cross. Such love from a dying man. Take some time with this one, its way tougher than a six pack.

Fr Warner D’Souza

…who has received much forgiveness from the Lord.

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Faith

Genesis 12:1-4a/ 2 Tim 1: 8b- 10/ Matthew 17:1- 9

Think about it!  What if we were never permitted to see the face of God, ever! But here we are today, privileged to gaze at Him in the Blessed Sacrament and receive Him in Holy Communion.

Not so if you were an Old Testament prophet or patriarch, much less an ordinary Israelite.  Moses and Elijah, both of whom are mentioned in the narration of the transfiguration, never saw God’s face. To make matters worse they had to trudge up a high mountain just to hear His voice. Moses, like Jesus, took a disciple along and interestingly Jesus, Moses and Elijah all walked up the same mountain; Mt Horeb or Sinai as it is called.

So what’s with mountains? Jesus seemed to like them a lot. The second temptation is on the mountain, so is His place of prayer. The Sermon on the Mount was given on a mountain and so too, the transfiguration of today’s gospel. To a Jew of the first century, this imagery would not require an interpreter, even more if you mentioned Elijah and Moses in the same breath. Theophanies or God’s manifestation always took place on a mountain and couple that with a cloud cover. Put the two together and God was going to make an appearance.

So is the presence of Elijah and Moses just for representational purposes to make our narrative look good? After all Elijah represented the prophets and Moses the law and no Jew would deny the importance of the law and the prophets. Besides, it makes for a great PR campaign for Jesus.

For greater clarity, in spare time, open your Bible to Exodus 24:12-16, 33:17-23 and I Kings 11:13.  You will find a lot of parallelisms to the transfiguration of Jesus.  Like Jesus, both Moses and Elijah go up a mountain; in fact, the same mountain. Moses takes a disciple, just like Jesus did. Moses and Elijah desired to see God’s face, but were denied. They both saw His glory but not His face for they were told,that they would die if they saw God’s face. Both of them had their faces covered by God’s hand or His mantle.

So what is so amazing then in this? God who never showed His face to Moses and Elijah in the Old Testament, does so in the New Testament. Jesus reveals His transfigured state to Moses, Elijah and the disciples, and guess what; THEY SAW THE FACE OF GOD AND LIVED. Moses and Elijah are finally able to see the face of God because ‘That God’ has become man. It is this same face that God did not want to reveal, that becomes on Good Friday, the face that WE HIDE FROM. The Prophet Isaiah in Chapter 53 says, “He had no form or majesty that we should look at Him; nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of suffering; as one from whom others hid their faces.”

Ironic is it not, the God who did not reveal Himself in the Old Testament finally does in the New Testament? Even more ironic is that ‘man’ who desired to see God’s face in the Old Testament and was not allowed to, is now permitted to, in the New Testament and guess what, he does not want to see God’s face! Away with Him, Crucify Him! How fickle is humankind? How quickly the Hosannas of Palm Sunday will turn to ‘Crucify Him’, on Good Friday!

So what is the transfiguration all about, merely a Sunday morning guilt trip? The very word ‘transfiguration’ comes from the Greek word ‘metamorphosis’ which means change. Jesus’ appearance changed and Peter, James and John all saw Him as God and Man.  The experience left the impetuous Peter a better man. Remember Peter, the patron of spontaneous prayer who must say something every time? Well, he did so this time around, but now with greater understanding. He calls Jesus, “Lord”. He has become aware of Jesus’ divinity and addresses Him with a title of faith. But even more, the change is seen in Peter’s leadership. He who, not even a chapter ago, was given the keys of the kingdom of heaven and soon after denounced for his inability to grasp the new role foisted on his shoulders, takes on the leadership, but now in humbler tones. “If you wish, I will make three dwellings.” No more arrogance, no more leaning on the disciples for support. This is the Peter who has seen the face of God and lived.

Yet Peter, James and John will fall later. They, who will be invited into the Garden of Gethsemane to pray, will fail The Lord three times. Jesus understands this. And as tenderly as He touched His disciples in the transfiguration (verse 7) and helped them up, He will do the same after His resurrection; to Thomas, Peter and the rest. ‘Do you love me?’ is the question He will ask Peter and us.

Change is in the air, that’s what the season of Lent is all about. Change! Today we don’t have to climb a mountain to meet God. Thank God for that! But like Elijah, we can hear Him in a still small voice. Mountains don’t need to be conquered for us to be with God; pride does, hate does, anger does, and lust does. And there we find God, on our own Mt Sinai; in a chapel or in our living room, in our kitchen, or in our work place. Look around now, He is there, revealing Himself to you.

Fr Warner D’Souza   

In thankfulness to my parents, Edmund and Winifred who showed us the way to Jesus. 

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